Jalapeno Cheddar Hummus

Hummus is one of those things that is rarely allowed in our house. Not because we don't like hummus. On contraire, once we get going, or ahem, once one of us gets going, it's far too easy to eat almost the entire container before realizing it. We won't say whom that might be.

So when the opportunity presented itself to bring a food dish to share with friends (*cough*superbowl*cough), my mind immediately jumped to some sort of savory dip. I didn't have a ton of notice was too lazy to come up with something wildly crazy, so opted for something simple with ingredients I knew I could pick up at the small-ish grocery store down the street.

I originally had a different idea for a dip going into it, but I decided last minute to pick up the things for this hummus as well just.in.case. the other one didn't turn out like I'd planned.

So glad I did. Not because the other dip didn't turn out (I'll be sharing that next week), but because this was definitely tasty. I love the addition of cheddar and jalapeno to hummus, and so did the other guests!

Jalapeno Cheddar Hummus

Adapted from: The Spiffy Cookie

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 jalapeno, chopped, seeds and membranes removed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons warm water
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the chickpeas and jalapeno. Pulse until ingredients are pureed. With the processor still running, pour in the olive oil and water until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Add tahini and remaining 5 ingredients. Process again until the mixture is smooth, adding more water if it becomes too thick.

Serve with pita chips or veggies.

Serves: 20 (2 tablespoons per serving)

As written, this hummus turns out a bit thicker that your normal store-bought hummus, but I kind of enjoyed it that way. You can always add more water if you like it more on the thinner side. As much as I did enjoy what the cheddar and jalapenos brought to the table, I almost wish it would have been more. I felt like the chickpeas really kind of muted the cheddar more than I was expecting, and I could have gone for keeping a few of the seeds with the jalapeno, as this was not spicy - at all. Still, even with the hummus the way it was, I could have definitely chowed down on at least half a bowl. ;)

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 54g
Amount per serving
Calories 206	Calories from fat 71
% Daily Value
Total Fat 7.9g	12%
Saturated Fat 1.9g	10%
Cholesterol 6mg	2%
Sodium 163mg	7%
Total Carbs 25.5g	9%
Fiber 7.3g	29%
Sugars 4.5g
Protein 9.7g
Vitamin A 2%	Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 9%	Iron 16%

Spicy Thai Chicken Nuggets

Chicken nuggets to American children is like peanut butter to jelly. Or chocolate. Even if the parents are completely pro non-hormone, non-fried, do-not-dare-feed-that-McDonald's-to-my-child, I'm sure the child has had, in some form or fashion, a chicken nugget. And they.love.them.

Admission: I still get chicken nuggets whenever we go to Chick-Fil-A. I pink puffy heart them.

There's a reason children people love them so much -- they're portable, easy to eat, and the good ones are seasoned well, juicy, and flavorful. But the buck doesn't have to stop there when it come to chicken nuggets. Clearly people have figured this out when it comes to chicken wings, and let's face it, boneless chicken wings is just a grown-up name for large chicken nuggets.

So there's absolutely no reason we can't bring home a little bit of that flavor to a healthier, non-fried version. Chicken nuggets for adults don't have to be plain Jane breadcrumb-crusted pieces of chicken any more.

Spicy Thai Chicken Nuggets

Inspired by: The Realistic Nutritionist

3 (4 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
2/3 cup mild sweet Asian chili sauce (such as Maggi)
1 tablespoon garlic chili paste (sambal oelek)
1/2 cup panko
1/4 cup lightly salted peanuts
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Slice chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. (I was able to get 7 pieces from a 4 ounce breast.) In a small bowl, whisk together the chili sauce and the garlic chili paste. Place the chicken breast pieces in a large ziploc bag. Pour the sauce over the chicken, seal the bag, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray; set aside. Remove chicken from the fridge; set aside.

Place the panko in a wide, shallow bowl or plate. Place the peanuts into the bowl of a food processor, and grind until very fine. Mix ground peanuts and dried basil with the panko, tossing to combine. Roll each piece of chicken in the breadcrumb mixture, completely coating, then place in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining chicken, making sure the pieces do not touch in the baking dish. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until chicken is done.

Serves: 3 (7 nuggets per serving)

Originally I added 1 teaspoon of basil to the recipe, but I felt it's flavor was a little on the strong side, so I have adjusted the recipe above to reflect a lower amount. But feel free to add more if you love it! I also think next go around I'll add more sambal oelek as the spice didn't come through in quite the way I was hoping. Or maybe I'll toss some red pepper flakes in the panko.

And trust me that they'll be a next go around. Adam wasn't even completely done going through 14 nuggets before telling me I HAD to make these again. Soon. Sounds good to me, especially since they take all of 10 minutes total of prep time.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 191g
Amount per serving
Calories 467	Calories from fat 126
% Daily Value
Total Fat 14.0g	22%
Saturated Fat 3.2g	16%
Cholesterol 101mg	34%
Sodium 1019mg	42%
Total Carbs 46.3g	15%
Fiber 1.5g	6%
Sugars 17.3g
Protein 37.6g
Vitamin A 2%	Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 6%	Iron 15%

Simple Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies and I go way back. Like back when eating the raw dough at an unbelievably young age didn't faze people. (And I still totally stand by my dough eating habit.) I used to love going to the mall purely for the fact that I could get a soft and chewy sugar cookie the size of my head. Welcome to my heaven.

As much as I do love me some chocolate chip cookies, or chocolate cookies, and even rolled and iced sugar cookies, there's just something special about the simplicity of a plain ol' sugar cookie. And I have yet to find "the one".

I've had this recipe bookmarked on my Google Reader for eons, and I finally said enough was enough. It was time to give these guys a try.

Simple Sugar Cookies

Adapted from: Annie's Eats

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons extra
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the large work bowl of a mixer, beat the butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the vegetable oil and beat on medium-high until well incorporated. Stir in the granulated and powdered sugars until fully combined, about 1 minute. Mix in the egg. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, stirring until fully blended. Add the dry ingredients, half at a time, and slowly beat into the wet ingredients. Once mixed, add in the remaining dry ingredients. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour or freeze for 15 minutes.

Drop scoops of dough (I used a size 50 scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets. Using wet hands or the back of a wet spoon, gently press down on the dough to flatten the cookies. Sprinkle with extra granulated sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or just until the edges very very slightly begin to turn golden. Let rest on baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes: 33 cookies

While delicious, soft, and chewy, especially right out of the oven, I'm not quite sure these win "the one" title. After a few hours I noticed these turned slightly greasy and dried out really fast. Or at least some of them did, others didn't. My mind is boggled. Either way, still a little disappointing. I'm not trying to knock a good cookie, but when the bar is set so high... you have to be uber critical.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 22g
Amount per serving
Calories 106	Calories from fat 57
% Daily Value
Total Fat 6.3g	10%
Saturated Fat 2.5g	12%
Cholesterol 13mg	4%
Sodium 60mg	3%
Total Carbs 11.4g	4%
Sugars 5.6g
Protein 1.0g
Vitamin A 2%	Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0%	Iron 2%

Half Marathon Training: Week #5

I apologize for getting this out late. Again. We had family visiting this weekend so not a lot of time for blogging. That being said, I'm going to make this short and sweet, as I'm sure you're here for the food, not the running.

Sunday: 4 mile easy run

Nice, easy, and definitely necessary to stretch my legs back out after Friday's run. Thank goodness my very sore glutes and calves were calming down.

Monday: 7 x 400 speed work + Strength

Although the original goal for my training involved performing all of my runs outdoors, I decided that I was more concerned about getting my body to actually hit and maintain certain speeds during my speed workouts versus incorporating slight terrain nuances and wind resistance. Thus, I opted to move indoors to the treadmill where I could have full control of my pace.

According to the McMillan Running Calculator, my goal pace for these should fall between 1:46 and 1:52. My splits turned out:
1 - 1:50
2 - 1:49
3 - 1:48
4 - 1:48
5 - 1:45
6 - 1:42
7 - 1:41
Seeing as I was able to go under the bottom end for several of the splits, I need to focus more on starting out faster and holding that pace.

Tuesday: 3.4 mile easy run

Once again, another easy run falling within in my goal pace range (9:30-10:00 min/mi). A little bit longer than originally intended, but I had to switch routes mid-run or end up swimming through a good mile of slippery thick mud. Yeah, it didn't take much to veto that mud.

Wednesday: 3 mile @ pace

I knew going into this run that "pace" means to run at your goal race pace. But I just couldn't help myself and had to push a little harder, ending up with a 24:29 (8:09 min/mi) pace. And I proved to myself that I will not be racing at that pace anytime soon.

Even though I felt like I had a pretty good run, going in the gym, on the treadmill without the constant switching of the pace every 2 minutes-ish (like with the interval training), was really hard for me. Of course I didn't bring any headphones to listen to the TVs, or my ipod, so I was struggling to stay on task. Outside, I almost never have a problem with getting bored, but inside is just a whole other story. I need to make sure I bring headphones/music of some sort next time I do any treadmill work that isn't intervals.

Thursday: Strength

All day was spent cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, in preparation for our company, so I really only had time to squeeze in a quick strength session before having to shower then head out to the airport. Oh well, if anything is going to get cut, I'd prefer it to be yoga.

Friday: 10 mile run

It's hard trying to keep yourself on schedule with eating the right things and the right amounts before a long run when company is around. For some people this isn't all that important, but I tend to run into GI issues when I start getting into higher mileage, so it's really important I don't bog myself down with too much or the wrong kind of food ahead of time. Luckily, we went to a local cafe where I was able to get something light before heading out.

After last week's run feeling so great, I was a bit worried I'd swing back the other way again this week. Especially since I kind of felt like I struggled a bit with the speed workouts. Fortunately though, we started off at a great pace and fell right into a rhythm. The only issue I had pretty much the entire run was getting stuck at a traffic light (twice) which held us up for easily close to 90 seconds. Can I just say how much my body hates starting back up from a stop when I'm well over 5 miles into a run?

On the bright side though, 7 of the 10 miles were under a 9 minute pace and one of the miles which wasn't, included the time stuck at the light. I was a little concerned how I would feel near the end of the run since I was jumping 2 miles this week instead of 1, but surprisingly I held in there pretty well. I'm starting to think I may just be able to pull off a half marathon in under 2 hours.

Saturday: Rest

The countdown is on: 2 weeks until my 10 mile race and 7 until the half. I'm starting to get excited! I can't believe next week marks the halfway point. Since I've cruised into the double-digit mileage about 3 weeks early, I'm going to rearrange the long runs in the back-half of the schedule to better reflect my higher mileage and to better prepare me for 13.1.

Up next though, I'm going to insert a drop down week (8 mi) between now and my 10 mile race to help really firm up my endurance at this mileage.

Sausage, Egg, & Biscuit Casserole

Let me let you in on a little secret. Breakfast just isn't for breakfast any more. Shocking, I know.

If fact, breakfast for dinner (or brinner) is pretty much the only way I eat "breakfast-y" type foods anymore. Well, aside from vacations, but that's another story.

Let's be honest here. I like my sleep. I like to eat when I get up. I don't like to wait hours for my food to be done. But every once in a blue moon I do like the nice warm comfort of breakfast food. And there's no written law stating that eggs and sausage smothered in gravy must be eaten for breakfast. [A fact someone should pass on to fast food restaurants that end breakfast service at 10.]

Nope, here we do those kinds of things for dinner. And relish them. In all their calorie-laden comfort glory. Which, let's face it, is really how these types of meals roll.

Sausage, Egg, and Biscuit Casserole

Adapted from: Cuisine at Home, December 2011

1 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage
7 eggs
1 1/4 cups 1% milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, sliced in half hamburger-style
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups 1 % milk
1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray; set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage, breaking up with a spoon. Transfer cooked sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside until ready to use. Leave drippings in pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and next 4 ingredients (through 1 teaspoon ground pepper).

Layer the bottom half of the biscuits in the prepared baking dish. Top with half of the sausage. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Add another layer of biscuit dough with the remaining biscuit tops. Top with remaining sausage. Drizzle the egg mixture evenly over the sausage and biscuits.

Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles (165 degrees) and a toothpick inserted into a biscuit comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes.

While casserole is baking, melt the butter in the skillet with the sausage drippings over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth, continuing to stir for 2 minutes. Pour in milk and whisk until smooth. Continue cooking gravy until mixture becomes thickened, 5-8 minutes. Stir in sage, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper. Serve poured over casserole.

Serves: 8

If you are dead set on making this for breakfast, make the casserole the night before, cover and refrigerate, then pop it in the oven when you get up. It will still take the full 55-60 minutes to bake, but you shaved off around a half hour of frying and whisking. If you also make the gravy ahead of time, place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the gravy before storing in the fridge to prevent that lovely skin from forming on the top. Simply reheat when ready to use.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 259g
Amount per serving
Calories 534	Calories from fat 351
% Daily Value
Total Fat 39.0g	60%
Saturated Fat 18.0g	90%
Cholesterol 257mg	86%
Sodium 1023mg	43%
Total Carbs 20.8g	7%
Fiber 0.7g	3%
Sugars 7.2g
Protein 23.8g
Vitamin A 19%	Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 34%	Iron 13%

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup is the ultimate "feel better" soup. (Unless you're my husband and want vegetable soup in that scenario, but he's just weird.) I totally grew up on the Campbell's version of the soup, but you really can't beat it when it's homemade. (Um, of course, you can add three times as many noodles!)

Usually though, when I'm not sick, I tend to steer away from the comforts of the Chicken Noodle Soup. Not that I don't enjoy it, but, it has it's time and place -- when I'm sick. However, this version of Chicken Noodle Soup is one I definitely embrace sick OR healthy.

Sick version: up the amount of Sriracha and red curry paste and you will be guaranteed to clear out those sinuses. Even if you can't taste it.

Healthy version: keep "as is" and enjoy a nice spicy Asian flavored soup.

See, that's just a win-win for me.

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

Adapted from: RavieNomNoms

3 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
8 ounces cooked shredded chicken
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup snow peas, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger
3 ounces uncooked rice flour noodles
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup green onions, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the first 9 ingredients (through ginger). Bring to a simmer for at least 5 minutes, then keep warm.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the rice noodles and cook according to package instructions; drain. Transfer 1/4 cup noodles into each soup bowl.

Remove ginger from broth mixture. Add lime juice and stir. Ladle about 1 1/2 cups soup into each bowl. Sprinkle with a tablespoon each of cilantro and green onions.

Serves: 4

Not only is this super tasty, but it's also a breeze to throw together. Simply heat the ingredients in a large pot and away you go. Kind of sounds like the canned Chicken Noodle Soup. But tastier.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 400g
Amount per serving
Calories 195	Calories from fat 22
% Daily Value
Total Fat 2.4g	4%
Saturated Fat 0.7g	4%
Cholesterol 44mg	15%
Sodium 648mg	27%
Total Carbs 22.6g	8%
Fiber 2.1g	8%
Sugars 1.8g
Protein 19.5g
Vitamin A 53%	Vitamin C 22%
Calcium 4%	Iron 10%

Half Marathon Training: Week #4

So, I have decided to do away with trying to take pics when I'm out and about running. It's kind of difficult to get my phone out of the armband, then put it back in all while running. Not to mention everything looks brown and boring and all the same.

Sunday: 3.6 mile run + strength

Nice and easy. Just the way I needed to start this week out. I was a little tired from the Friday's long run, but I was feeling pretty good by the end.

Monday: 35 minute tempo run

Ugh. Totally did not go as planned. For some reason my body was refusing to make this a "hard" day. I kept feeling like I would speed up, but would almost always slow right back down. My goal for the run was to have a nice easy warm-up for the first 10 minutes (HR around 165-170), followed by a HR between 170-175 for minutes 10-15, 175-180 for minutes 15-20, 180-185 for minutes 20-25, and 185+ for minutes 25-30, then slowing back to 165-175 for the last five minutes. Yeah. That did not happen. For some reason I was struggling to get my heart rate up to 180, then I may have briefly reached 185, but I just couldn't maintain it. I think my max HR reached was only 187. I honestly don't know what was going on. I kept feeling like I was trying to push myself, but my body would for some reason always revert back to an easier pace. Frustrating.

Tuesday: 3 mile easy run + 3 mile walk

Tuesday turned out to be an absolute beautiful day for running with temps hovering in the mid-50s. I happily put on a t-shirt (a t-shirt!!) and some running shorts and headed out to the trail. The run was great, I didn't feel too bad, and I had it in my head from the get-go that this was a day to pull back and go easy on the pace. No pushing. Fine. Dandy. Then I finished my run. And went to get in my car. No key. Most running shorts have a tiny little pouch/pocket thing sewn into the inside front of the shorts. Whenever I'm wearing these kind of shorts, it's always where I keep my key. In the 16 years I've been running and keeping my key in the little key pocket -- no problems. Until Tuesday. No key in the key pocket. I did the only thing I could do, well, maybe short of having a break down, I went back and retraced my route.

All three miles of it. I'm pretty sure I almost went blind from the constant and intense side-to-side sweep of the trail I was doing. I was still about 200 meters from the end of my route and still... no key. I could not for the life of me remember feeling the key fall or hearing it hit the ground. Then I got a bright idea.

The other thing that usually comes with running shorts is a built-in brief. Now some people like to just assume that the built-in brief works as underwear and that's all they wear. To me, that is weird. Anyhoo. So I had an idea. What if, instead of actually falling out of the key pocket to the ground, it fell out of the key pocket into the built-in brief and never went anywhere? So I checked.

Let me tell you. Finding that dang key in my shorts totally made up for the fact I was alone, behind an elementary school, with my hand down my shorts. Egads. So yeah. Remind me never to do that again. Or at least check my shorts before wandering around for an hour in the now-not-so-warm-and-no-sun weather.

Wednesday: 4 x 400m Hills

Wednesday was another beautiful day for running. (Yay for shorts and t-shirt!) Since we moved our long run up a day the previous week, I ended up having an extra day to add in some speed work. I had originally planned on starting hill work in a couple weeks, but I figured while I had the time and awesome weather, why not? Now I know 4 seems like a fairly low number, however, the lovely hill I choose to do my workout on averages a 5.5% grade, although there are several areas which are steeper than a 14% grade. I had attempted a hill workout on this same route about 7 months ago and could only make it 2/3 of the way up before the lactic acid took over and I would have to turn around and go back down. Which makes me proud to say I ran the entire way up 3 times, then walked up the 4th. I don't even feel bad about walking, as my heart rate was consistently 175 the whole way up (a little bit higher than it is during an easy run). But man, did this ever remind that my calves and butt and are not strong.

Thursday: Yoga + Strength

Speaking of feeling Wednesday's workout, I woke up on Thursday and could barely walk. Both my calves and backside/hips were beyond ridiculously tight. I surprisingly managed to push through some yoga (which did help loosen me up, for about 5 minutes), and some upper body strength training. I totally bailed on the lower body portion as there was just going to be no way. Foam rolling and laying on the couch were definitely my BFFs.

Friday: 8 mile run

I was partly looking forward to the run on Friday and partly terrified. I was still very sore from Wednesday and was worried I would have another long run like last week, fighting every step of the way to keep up with my running partners. If I could even run that was. I tried to stretch out and move around throughout the day, and I finally felt halfway decent around the time of our run. Luckily, I hardly even noticed my calves once we started running. On the other hand, I could feel my sore glutes every step of the way for the entire first half of the run. Not pleasant. But we did start out at a reasonable pace, and I surprisingly felt great the entire run. Even with my aches and pains I could have easily gone for at least another mile.

Saturday: Indoor Soccer Game

Of course, that nice little long run we did made my glute pain flair up even worse after sitting down for a while, which continued into Saturday. There was a while there that I wasn't sure I was going to even be able to play. Once again, however, things loosened up over the course of the day and I was able to run without much discomfort by game time. And once I was nice and warmed up, I didn't really even notice it at all. Whew. I was getting worried there for a bit.

Hopefully all those aches will go away this week.

The mileage is definitely increasing this week, and I'm make a jump from 8 to 10 miles on the long run, too. Although this jumps seems kind of random, there is a method to the madness...

I've signed up for a 10 mile race at the end of February. It's actually the exact same course as my half marathon, minus the 5k at the beginning, which makes me really happy. According to the McMillan running calculator, I should be able to finish in under 1:25:00, so I'll set that as my current goal. But... we'll see how it goes and how I feel when it's actually time to run.